The 1st Symposium of “Exploration of Practical Wisdom and Resilience Overcoming Downside Risk”

On 21 February 2023, the SDGs Collaborative Research Unit at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) of the University of Tokyo and the Japan Society for Afrasian Studies (JSAS) co-organized a symposium entitled “Exploration of Practical Wisdom and Resilience Overcoming Downside Risk: Collecting grassroots voices in Africa under COVID-19.”

Kazuyo Hanai (Project Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo) gave an overview of the symposium. This symposium is an interim report of the international collaborative research project of the same name, funded by the Hitachi Fund Support for Research Related to Infectious Diseases. The project aims to identify the perceptions and practical knowledge of local people in Africa struggling with COVID-19-related risks, and to make policy recommendations for government agencies and aid organizations.

The symposium featured panellists from joint research project members Christian S. Otchia (Associate Professor at Nagoya University), Laban Kithinji Kinyua (Fellow at Sophia University), and Rangarirai Gavin Muchetu (Research fellow at Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies).

In the first presentation, Associate Professor Otchia’s quantitative survey of seven African countries classified and analyzed the real risks and people’s perception of risk associated with the government’s COVID-19 containment measures. Specifically, He discussed the interrelationship between the risk perception of COVID-19 and cognitive factors. The findings show that risk perception of COVID-19 varied among the seven African countries. It tended to be lower than other risks, such as political and economic risk. The survey also found that respondents’ values, ideology, personality traits, as well as trust in government and medical institutions, are related to their risk perception. The context of local culture and society needs to be fully considered for effective policy making and implementation in the future.

Kinyua’s presentation based on field research data in August, November, and December focused on the impact of COVID-19 regulations on higher education in Kenya and how the government’s attempt to switch teaching methods to online learning has changed the lives and education of students. According to his fieldwork, governmental support, students’ adaptability to new media and the entrepreneurial activities elicited by the crisis somehow mitigated the negative impacts of COVID-19. However, there are concerns that the disparity in infrastructure development, the unsettled internet environment and the lack of interpersonal relationships will ultimately bounce back as uncertainty in students’ examinations, mental health, and employment, wrinkling more significant risks to the “bottom of society”.

In the final presentation, Researcher Muchetu drew on field research in Zimbabwe to identify risks associated with COVID-19 in rural areas and changes in people’s risk perceptions and life strategies. Through research conducted in overcrowded communal areas, the newly resettled areas, and urban cities, it became clear that the impact of COVID-19 is manifesting in varying social, economic, and political challenges. Overall, rural production and livelihoods were stifled by government restrictions and constraints on moving goods and services. The Zimbabwe research team brought into perspective the dynamic of the rural areas. Given the lower population destinies in the rural area, many reported that the COVID-19 induced risks (income loss, no access to markets) was a more a reality than the actual virus. The lack of public services and healthcare left the people at the mercy of local remedies which mostly involved use of some locally available plants. Furthermore, the research found that COVID-19 also brought some opportunities for some people which helps us move away from using a linear framework to understanding the multiplicity of risk.

During the Q&A session, numerous questions were raised to confirm details about the local situation, such as mask-wearing rate and the function of religion. The symposium concluded with the future challenge of finding indications for facing risk as a complex system from the dynamic interaction between reality and people’s perception in Africa, as depicted by the three panelists.

＊This symposium is sponsored by the Hitachi Fund Support for Research Related to Infectious Diseases.

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